Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T08:29:34.838Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Energy Problems and Alternatives: Implications for the South

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

David L. Debertin  and
Angelos Pagoulatos
David L. Debertin
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky
Angelos Pagoulatos
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Though agriculture in the United States has been looked upon as being technically efficient in terms of output per unit of labor, it is not nearly as efficient in terms of output per unit of liquid fuels consumed (Debertin, Pagoulatos, and Boadu; Pagoulatos and Timmons). In this article, we examine the potential for substituting other inputs for liquid fuels in the agricultural production process. Studies of elasticities of substitution between energy and other inputs are reviewed. On the basis of these studies, we suggest possibilities for using other inputs instead of liquid fuels in agriculture. We present recent research results relating fuel use to tractor prices and horsepower. We compare Kentucky counties in terms of their energy use in relation to their mix of agricultural enterprises and mechanization levels. Finally, we speculate on the potential impacts of significant increases in real fuel prices on the major agricultural enterprises in the South.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , July 1980 , pp. 47 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 1980

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arrow, K., Chenery, H. B., Minhas, B., and Solow, R. M.. “Capital-Labor Substitution and Economie Efficiency.” Rev. Econ. and Statist. 43(1961):228–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atkinson, Scott E. and Halvorsen, Robert. “Interfuel Substitution in Steam Electric Power Generation.” J. Polit. Econ. 84(1976):959–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berndt, Ernst R. and Christensen, Laureto R.. “The Translog Function and the Substitution of Equipment, Structures and Labor in U.S. Manufacturing, 1929-1968.” J. Econometrics. 7(1973):81–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binswanger, Hans P. “The Measurement of Technical Change Biases With Many Factors of Production.” A mer. Econ. Rev. 64(1974):964–76.Google Scholar
Binswanger, Hans P. “A Cost Function Approach to the Measurement of Factor Demand Elasticities and of Elasticities of Substitution.” Amer. J. Agr. Econ. 56(1974):377–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, G. M. Jr. and Field, B.. “The Adequacy of Measures for Signalling the Scarcity and Growth Reconsidered,” in Scarcity and Growth Reconsidered, Smith, V. K., ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1979.Google Scholar
d Arge, R. C. and Smith, V. K.. “Managing an Uncertain Environment: The Stratosphere,” U.S. EPA and University of Maryland, Conference on Ozone Management, 16-20 July, 1978.Google Scholar
Debertin, David L., Pagoulatos, Angelos, and Boadu, Fred O.. “Impacts of Energy Price Increases on Fertilizer Use and Crop Acreages,” in Energy Involvement: What Can We Do, University of Missouri, Rolla, 1979.Google Scholar
Ghaffar, Roslan. “Determinants of Farm Size in Kentucky, An Econometric Study with Cross-Sectional Information at the County Level,” unpublished M.S. thesis, Dep. Agr. Econ., University of Kentucky, 1979.Google Scholar
Griffin, James M. and Paul Gregory, R.. “An Intercounty Translog Model of Energy Substitution Responses.“ Amer. Econ. Rev. 66(1976):845–57.Google Scholar
Hudson, E. A. and Jorgenson, D. W.. “U.S. Energy Policy and Economic Growth, 1975-2000.” Bell J. Econ. 5(1975):461–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Implement and Tractor, “Nebraska Tractor Tests,” January 1979.Google Scholar
Koenig, Herman E. “Foundations of Energy Policies,” working paper for MERRA Policy Committee, mimeo, April 1979.Google Scholar
Kontomichos, Nicholas. “A Putty-Clay Model for Introducing Technological Change in the Analysis of the Replacement of Tractors,” unpublished M.S. thesis, Dept. Agr. Econ. University of Kentucky, December 1979.Google Scholar
Literman, Mary, Eidman, Vernon, and Jensen, Harald. “Economics of Gasohol,” Economic Report ER 78-10, Dep. Agr. and Appi. Econ., University of Minnesota, December 1978.Google Scholar
National Farm and Power Equipment Dealers Association, Official Guide Tractor and Farm Equipment, Fall 1978, Ohio Association of Farm and Power Equipment Realtors, 4216 Indianola Avenue, Columbus, Ohio.Google Scholar
Nordhaus, W. P. “The Allocation of Energy Resources.” Brookings Papers on Econ. Activity. 3(1973):529–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pagoulatos, Angelos, Debertin, David L., and Pagoulatos, Emilio. “Government Price Policies and the Availability of Crude Oil.” W. J. Agr. Econ. (July 1978):59–73.Google Scholar
Pagoulatos, Angelos, Debertin, David L., and Pagoulatos, Emilio. “The Effect of Crude Oil Prices on the Output Composition of Refined Petroleum Products,” in Energy Involvement: What Can We Do, University of Missouri, Rolla, 1979.Google Scholar
Pagoulatos, Angelos and Timmons, John F.. “Alternative Scenarios of Energy Use in U.S. Crop Production.” S. J. Agr. Econ. 9(1977):9–16.Google Scholar
Smith, Kerry V. and Krutella, John V.. “Resource and Environmental Constraints to Growth.” Amer. J. Agr. Econ. 61(1979):395–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyner, Wallace E. “The Potential for Producing Energy From Agriculture,” Purdue Farm Management Rep., West Lafayette, Indiana (undated).Google Scholar
Tyner, Wallace E. and Wright, Arthur W.. “U.S. Energy Policy and Oil Independence: A Critique and Proposal.“ Materials and Society. 2(1978).Google Scholar
U.S. Bureau of the Census. “1974 Census of Agriculture,” 1:17, Kentucky, Book 1, Summary Data, U.S. Department of Commerce, June 1977.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Energy and U.S. Agriculture: 1974 Data Base,” Economic Research Service and Federal Energy Administration, September 1976.Google Scholar
Webb, Kerry and Duncan, Marvin. “Energy Alternatives in the U.S. Crop Production.” Econ. Rev., Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, February 1979, 14–22.Google Scholar